So Predictable
by AniMeViEtGrl
Summary: She thought he will be and would ALWAYS be predictable...that is...until he proved her wrong...[ShikaIno] Shika version up!
1. So Predictable

**Nghh I should be in bed right now cuz I have a cold but I wanted to finish this…**

**I only do this for you guys!(smile)**

**hmm the characters are about 14-15ish**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

_**So Predictable**_

"I don't believe you Ino-pig" Haruno Sakura objected, crossing her arms as she stood in front of the counter in the Yamanaka flower shop.

"What? That Asuma-sensei bought flowers for Kurenai-sensei?" Ino looked up at the pink haired kunoichi while arranging a flower bouquet for a customer. She took a pair of scissors and cut off a part of the rose stem in her hand.

"No!" She rolled her eyes as she took the rose from Ino's hand, placing it into the vase. She stepped back to examine the bouquet.

"I don't believe that you always know what Shikamaru is doing" The girl constinued as she took the scissors from Ino's hands and snipped off a few leaves. the blonde girl glanced at her for just a second before she looked back at their creation.

"What's not to believe? He's so predictable!" The young Yamanaka spoke as she tied a red ribbon around the glass vase.

"I can even tell you what his daily routine is everyday" She added as she shrugged. She picked up the vase to store in the back for later.

"What? That's impossible! You can't possibly know that unless you actually spend every waking minute with him!" Sakura protested as she cupped her chin in her palms, leaning on the counter.

"Trust me forehead, I've known Shikamaru way longer than **you** and besides, he ALWAYS does the same thing over and over again every single day" Ino peeked out from the storage room, rolling her sky blue eyes.

"I mean…can't YOU probably give a good guess about where Naruto is at the moment? You're on the same team after all" Ino spoke, still in the storage room. Sakura frowned and tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Sure…if I was STALKING him!" Sakura said dryly as she played with her hair, twisting it with her finger.

"It's not a matter of stalking him or not" The mind controller frowned as she placed the vase on an empty shelf.

"Like….I bet he's probably eating ramen right now" She exclaimed as she walked out of the storage room, taking off her apron.

"Well I guess…because he's ALWAYS eating ramen!" Sakura frowned back as she watched Ino move around the store.

"But there's also a possibility that he's NOT eating too" Sakura added as she jumped up to sit on the counter. Ino shook her head. Sakura would never understand.

As Ino finished watering the last of the plants, she swatted Sakura off the counter and made her way to the greenhouse where her mother was.

"Mom! I'm going out to eat lunch with Sakura!" Ino called through the vast room. Her mother called a quick "alright honey" from somewhere on the other side of the large room. Ino made her way back into the shop and saw Sakura waiting for her in the front.

"I still don't believe you…" Sakura mumbled as she held the door open for Ino.

Ino sighed and rolled her eyes again.

"Fine! I'll prove it!" Ino said as she looked at the blue sky filled with clouds.

"Right now, Shikamaru is lying in his favorite grassy spot near the training grounds" The blonde spoke with confidence. Sakura's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Fine…let's go see if he actually IS there!" She shouted as she dragged Ino off to the training grounds.

X

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"Shikamaru!" A shrill girly voice called out disturbing the boy's peaceful slumber. Nara Shikamaru opened an eye to see Ino and Sakura running towards him. The lazy genius inwardly sighed, couldn't he have a peaceful day without troublesome women to interrupt him??

"What?" He lazily shouted, knowing that the girls were too far away to hear him if he were to use his normal tone.

"You see!" Ino spun around to face her friend. Sakura tried her best not to gape at the pure coincidence of Shikamaru ACTUALLY being there.

"That was just a fluke!" Sakura muttered as she crossed her arms, walking away.

"Ah! Hey! Wait forehead girl!" Ino called as she ran after the medic nin.

Shikamaru watched as the two girls grew smaller in the distance.

"What was THAT about?" He asked no one in particular as he lied back down, watching the clouds drift by.

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Sakura stared at Ino as she ate her salad calmly in front of her. She looked down at her own meal, poking the tomatoes repeatedly with her fork.

"You know if you keep frowning like that you'll get wrinkles…." Ino stated as she pointed her fork at her friend. Sakura glared at her in return.

"Are you still upset about me being right??" Ino asked as she brought her glass of water up to her lips. She almost smirked as the medic nin frowned even more.

"Since when have you and Shikamaru been so close anyways?" Sakura repelled Ino's question with her own.

Ino blinked at the gibberish that spewed from the girls mouth.

"What? Where'd **that** come from?" Ino lifted a brow as she took a sip of her water.

"Oh come on Ino-pig! You have got to be close to Shikamaru if you always know what he's doing!" Sakura banged her fist on the table and Ino just wiped her mouth daintily with her napkin in response.

"Ughh just drop it okay Sakura! Why does it bother you so much anyways?" Ino asked as she was beginning to lose her own patience.

"No! I will not 'drop it'!" Sakura half yelled. Ino sighed.

"Fine! I've made my decision!" Sakura stated triumphantly as she pumped her fist in the air, disregarding the many stares her way.

"Huh?" Ino questioned confusedly as she set her fork down.

"We'll tail Shikamaru all day and see if your predictions are right!" Sakura laughed as she began to eat her food happily, obviously pleased with her brilliant idea.

"What?!" Ino took the chance to throw her composed self out the window of the restaurant. Sakura hummed a tune to herself as she began to finish up her salad.

"You have **got **to be kidding me! I'm not going to follow Shikamaru around all day! I have things to do!" Ino intercepted as she banged her fist angrily on the cloth covered table. Sakura ignored her and continued to finish up her lunch.

"FOREHEAD!" Ino shouted at her, finally getting her attention.

"What?!" Sakura yelled back angrily, for her meal was being disturbed.

"I'm not going to do it!" Ino folded her arms in front of her chest. She slapped a few bills on the table and began to walk away. Sakura hurriedly finished her meal and thanked the waiter before following Ino out of the small restaurant.

"Inooooo!" She yelled out to the blonde, finally catching up to her.

"Fine…if you don't do it, it must mean that you're scared your predictions will be wrong" Sakura shrugged as she turned around to go on her merry way. Ino paused and turned around slowly. She watched Sakura's fading back amongst the crowd.

She clenched her fists fiercely as she began to follow Sakura. How dare billboard brow girl call **her**, **Ino Yamanaka** a chicken!

Sakura inwardly high-fived herself as she heard Ino calling her name from behind her. Luckily Ino's rivalry towards her was too high for her to realize that Sakura had just baited her. Oh well….

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"Okay…It's been at least two hours since we last saw Shikamaru….so where is he now?" Sakura asked as she and Ino walked along the busy streets of Konoha. Ino gave her a look and looked up at the sky again.

"Mmm probably still where we left him…" Ino concluded tapping her chin thoughtfully, keeping her eyes on the road.

"What?" Sakura exclaimed, disbelieving her still. Ino shrugged.

"I'm serious…if you don't believe me then lets check…" Ino said as the two girls began to walk back to the fields.

And to Sakura's surprise, Ino was once again right…

"See…I told you so…" Ino said in a mocking voice as she and Sakura observed Shikamaru from atop a tree located in the forest next to the lazy chunin's gazing spot. Sakura mumbled something incoherent and she looked back at Shikamaru as he stood up to stretch and then began to walk back up the hill.

"Ah! Hey..he's leaving!" Sakura tapped Ino on the shoulder to get the blondes attention back at her teammates. Ino's eyes settled on Shikamaru and she yawned.

"About time…he's probably going to grab a bite to eat at Ichirakus" Ino swiftly jumped off the branch and landed soundlessly on the ground with Sakura following after. The two girls began to tail Shikamaru from a distance so he wouldn't notice.

"I still don't see why we have to do this…" Ino stretched her arms lazily in the air.

"Why can't you just believe me when I say that Shikamaru is so predictable?" Ino watched Shikamaru's pineapple hairstyle bob up and down as he walked the streets of Konoha.

"Because I won't believe the fact that you say you know him so well when in fact I never see you two conversing with each other in public!" Sakura argued as she made sure to stay a safe distance behind Shikamaru. Ino raised a brow skyward.

"What are you—oh forget it…I don't feel like arguing right now…" Ino sighed as they once again silently followed the lazy chunin.

The two girls stopped when they finally saw Shikamaru enter Ichiraku Ramen. Ino smiled, giving Sakura another mocking grin and an "I told you so". Sakura wagged her finger at Ino saying that that was just another lucky guess and the two decided to sit in a café a few stores away until Shikamaru finished his meal...

Ino yawned in her seat as she began to drift off to dreamland. Her head began to droop slightly to the side and she had a hard time focusing her eyes on the Ichiraku ramen stand.

"Hey! He's finished!" Sakura pointed out again as she stood up abruptly, shaking Ino awake. Ino blinked several times to get her vision back to normal and saw the Nara genius lift the flap up and walk out while saying bye to Naruto, going on to his next destination.

"He's going to Asuma-sensei's to play Shogi..." Ino stated before Sakura could ask her where he was going. Sakura looked at Ino as the blonde yawned again stretching her arms out.

'I think Shikamaru's habits are rubbing off on her…" The Godaime apprentice thought as she and Ino went after the cloud loving boy.

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"I told you so…." Ino whispered in a sing song voice as the two girls peeked over the roof to Asuma's house.

"He does this everyday…you can tell by how Asuma-sensei had the board set up already" Ino chided as she and Sakura jumped off the roof and onto a Sakura tree to rest. Sakura gritted her teeth.

"Like I said…if you know all this, then that must mean you two are close!" Sakura said as she watched Ino pluck a cherry blossom flower and play with it between her fingers.

"Oh please…we are **so** not close…we mix together like water and oil…" Ino spoke the last part almost hesitantly as she twirled the flower stem between her fingers. Sakura noticed this of course. She began to observe the Yamanaka's face more…was that…

...regret in her eyes?!

Sakura shook her head...nooo it couldn't be! Ino didn't like Shikamaru!

Almost 2 hours had passed by and Ino and Sakura had stayed in a comfortable silence (excluding the occasional whining from Ino)as both stared at the drifting clouds in the sky. Ino looked at Sakura who had drifted off to sleep and smiled at her best friend. She took a small branch of cherry blossoms and lifted it up to her face to inhale the sweet scent.

"Ino…?" A confused voice spoke up, almost causing the mind walker to lose her balance off the branch. She looked down from the tree to see Shikamaru staring back up at her.

"H-Hey there Shikamaru!" Ino laughed nervously as she kicked Sakura awake. The Godaime apprentice glared at Ino, rubbing her now bruised leg before looking down to see what her friend was staring at.

"S-Shikamaru!" Sakura choked out surprised and he lifted his gaze from the blonde to the roseate haired girl.

"Haruno..? What are you two doing here?" He asked as he took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, expecting an answer from the two girls.

"W-We were just…." Sakura groped for the right explanation but none came to mind.

"…walking around and we saw this gorgeous tree so we climbed up to have a closer look…" Ino finished lamely. She started to sweat as Shikamaru's gaze seemed to pierce through her.

"Really…" He said quietly as his eyes narrowed. Ino nodded rapidly in response.

To the girls good fortune, Shikamaru's gaze relaxed….

"Well...whatever the reason, don't stay up there too long….you don't want to know how many bugs are infested on that tree…" He shrugged as he began to walk away placing his hands behind his head.

The two girls stared at each other and then back at the tree they were currently in.

Shikamaru gave off a satisfied smirk as he heard Ino and Sakura's high pitched screams echo in the distance.

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"Okay…so where is he going now?" Sakura asked as she and Ino began to follow Shikamaru once again after calming down from their little bug incident.

Ino scratched her arm and glared at Sakura.

"We're still doing this?!" Ino nearly shouted as she surpressed the urge to strangle her friend.

"Of course! Now answer my question!" Sakura laughed maniacally as she swatted Ino on the back. Ino frowned and watched Shikamaru's head bop up and down again. She looked at the sun as it almost began to set in the sky.

"He's going to Chouji's to watch the sunset" Ino reluctantly muttered as she sighed, scratching her head. She took the hair tie out of her hair, putting it into her mouth while gathering her hair into a perfect high ponytail.

"This time I'll prove to you that you're wrong…" Sakura pointed out as she saw Shikamaru turn a corner and the two girls did as well.

"Riiiight…" Ino rolled her eyes and tied her hair in a perfect ponytail.

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"Hey buddy" Shikamaru muttered as Chouji opened the door.

"Shikamaru? You're by yourself?" Chouji questioned confused. Shikamaru raised a questioning brow.

"Yeah…seems like it…" Shikamaru said as he let himself in and Chouji closed the door behind him.

"I told you so…" Ino sang again. Sakura cringed at the girl's voice. She turned around from the streetlight she was currently hiding behind.

"No! They didn't go watch the sunset! So basically you're wrong!" Sakura muttered, trying to turn the odds against Ino.

"Yeah…they watch the sunset on Chouji's roof…I've only been there a couple of times though...anyways, the sunset is really gorgeous from his house" Ino pointed out. She smirked as she heard the metal latch on the door to the roof click open and the two girls saw Chouji and Shikamaru walking out.

Shikamaru and Chouji both leaned on the metal railing and stared out to the horizon.

Ino yawned as she began to make her way home.

"Well…today was a waste of time…I'm going home now…oh, and just to prove myself once more….after this, Shikamaru's going straight home" Ino muttered as she walked away from the shocked Sakura.

"Hey! Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled after Ino as she ran after the girl.

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"Now do you believe me…?" Ino asked as she looked at Sakura while applying nail polish to her fingernails. Sakura, who was lying on Ino's bed, grumbled something into her pillow. Ino giggled.

"Ahh I love it when I'm right…!" Ino giggled again as she finished applying the nail polish to her hands.

"I guess that means that you don't have to be close to a person to know what they're doing…" Ino said as she twisted the nail polish bottle shut. She heard Sakura mumbling something eerily familiar to a "shut up".

As Ino stood up to put away the bottles of nail polish, while still blowing on her fingernails, the doorbell suddenly went off sending a sharp ring throughout the house.

Ino and Sakura's heads shot up at the sudden noise and the two looked at each other before both making their way down the stairs to the front door.

"Oh...and just to be clear...I, Yamanaka Ino has proven to you that Shikamaru Nara is so predictable!" Ino grinned as she and Sakura made their way through the hallway.

"Yeah, yeah...put a sock in it..." Sakura grumbled.

The pink haired kunoichi went ahead and decided to open the door since Ino's nails were still in the process of drying.

She proceeded to grab the shiny metal doorknob and pulled the door open slowly.

"Yes? How can we help---SHIKAMARU?!" Sakura sputtered as the chunin stood towering above her. Ino stopped blowing on her nails and looked over her old rivals shoulder.

Indeed, her ears didn't deceive her…it was in fact Shikamaru Nara…

"What are **YOU** doing here?" Ino scoffed while blinking a mile a minute. Sakura stepped aside to let the shadow user inside.

"What? Did you think I'd be somewhere else?" He questioned innocently. Something about the look in his eyes made Ino back away.

"Umm…no…I'm just…_surprised_…" Ino said slowly as she found Shikamaru advancing slowly towards her.

It wasn't until a few seconds of backing away when she finally met the wall.

Sakura just stared at the two, her expression a mix of shock and happiness.

Happiness because Ino's prediction had been wrong and that meant she was right.

"Uh-huh…tell me _Ino_…" Shikamaru said as he lowered his face towards the blonde kunoichis'.

"…what am I going to do now?" He whispered huskily, his face merely centimeters away from hers.

Ino couldn't give anything but a muffled squeak in reply.

Shikamaru's gaze landed on Ino's soft rose colored lips. It didn't help his self control at all when Ino chose that particular moment to bite down on her bottom lip cutely. He looked back into her aquamarine eyes, expecting an answer from her.

"…well?" he questioned.

Before Ino had the time to even mumble an "um", his lips captured hers in a sweet innocent kiss. Ino's eyes closed automatically and it seemed that time had stood still before Shikamaru gently broke the kiss.

She looked at him speechless as her cheeks instantly changed colors.

Shikamaru gave her a smirk and began to walk out the door, passing the still shocked Sakura. He paused in the middle of his retreat and placed his hand on the door frame carefully.

"Oh…and next time you two decide to tail someone…be **stealthier** and **less talkative** about it…" He stared at the two girls before smirking at Ino again and finally leaving the house.

Ino found herself rushing up to her doorstep to watch the lazy shinobi leave.

Sakura's eyes slowly darted to the blonde.

"I thought you two weren't close…" She managed to say, still shocked.

Ino said nothing but gave a girlish giggle in response, her eyes still on Shikamaru and her finger lightly tracing her lips.

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Shikamaru calmly walked out of the Yamanaka residence, a rather smug grin spread acrossed his features. He heard Sakura as she tried to snap Ino out of her girlish daydream and he rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly.

Yamanaka Ino was SO predictable...

* * *

**::owari::**

**YaY! done!**

**Yummm! you gotta love an evil Shikamaru!!**

**I hope you all enjoyed it! I had fun writing this! Sorry for the small bits of OOC-ness!**

**Lastly, I'm thinking of making a companion one-shot for this fic but it follows Shikamaru instead….what do you think?**


	2. So Predictable: Shika Style!

_Italics_ mean thoughts!

**So Predictable: Shika Style!**

The moment he heard her voice, his ears perked up and he found himself letting out a small sigh as he reluctantly opened an eye. He could slightly make out that familiar long blonde hair and purple clothing. He inwardly sighed again, trying to remember if he did anything wrong over the past few days. The chunin was pleased to announce that he, in fact, had done nothing wrong to upset his fellow teammate; which thankfully crosses out the reason of her coming to him because she was angry.

But then again girls were complicated creatures…

He finally stopped his overly huge thinking process as it rounded up the twentieth reason why the blonde would look for him and he asked in a lazy voice.

"What?"

Of course he said it within earshot of the two females.

What happened next was not within his calculations and he could only watch quietly as Ino turned around to Sakura, saying something that he guessed was bad news for the pink haired girl because she in turned stuck her nose up in the air haughtily and turned on her heel in a huff.

Shikamaru continued to watch the two girls until they were gone from his line of vision. He shrugged to himself and lie back into the grass.

"What was that about?"

He stared back up at the cotton balls in the sky and he came to a conclusion.

"Ino's up to something…"

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His theory was soon proven correct when he noticed that same blonde haired girl had been following him ever since he got up from that grassy spot on the fields. He sighed and rolled his eyes. Weren't they supposed to be ninja? And according to the definition of ninja in his sturdy and unused dictionary (with brains like his he didn't even know _**why**_ he carried one…), a ninja was supposed to be stealthy.

_Apparently the dictionary was wrong… _

Shikamaru purposely slowed his pace and listened as the so called stealthy kunoichi of Konoha began chattering away to each other. He soon caught enough glimpses of their conversation to put the pieces together.

So…Ino wanted to prove to Sakura that he was predictable…interesting…

Shikamaru turned the corner and entered Ichiraku, his ears carefully strained to hear Ino gloat about being right. He shook his head in amusement and fully entered the stall, spotting our hyperactive ninja scarfing down on his third bowl of ramen. Naruto sensed someone at his side and turned to face them, bits of food still on his cheek.

"Shikamaru!" he greeted cheerfully.

The Nara found himself wondering how Naruto could possibly say his name clearly when a third of the contents in the bowl were stuffed in his mouth. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and sat down beside the blonde.

Shikamaru ordered a bowl of beef ramen and wondered if Ino and Sakura were still around.

Suddenly, Naruto's head perked up and he began to look around questioningly.

Shikamaru raised his brow in question.

"What is it?"

"I have a weird feeling that Sakura-chan is nearby…" the blonde said as he finally settled his eyes down on the steaming bowl of ramen that was being placed in front of him. Shikamaru froze up at the comment. How this boy knew he didn't know but he found a little voice in his mind telling him that love was a scary thing indeed…

"How is that even possible?" The shogi player rolled his eyes and split his chopsticks into two, realizing how hungry he was when Ayame placed his order down. He thanked her and dunked his chopsticks into the bowl, pulling up some noodles to stuff in his mouth.

"Of course it's possible! When you're in love that is!" Naruto grinned and sighed dreamily as he thought about his cherry blossom maiden. Shikamaru watched the self-proclaimed hokage with little interest. He slurped his soup and rolled his eyes, praying that Naruto wouldn't go all double chromosome on him and start discussing his love for Haruno.

"Come on Shikamaru…don't you get that feeling whenever you're around that one girl?" Naruto asked as he held the ramen bowl up to his lips, ready to slurp the soup.

"What girl?" he asked warily, hoping that Naruto wouldn't say the name he thought he would say. He continued to empty his bowl.

"Mmm don't remember her name….that kunoichi from the sand…" he placed his bowl down gently and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Shikamaru wanted to sigh loudly again but refrained from doing so.

"How many times do I have to tell you…we are NOT dating!" he mumbled, rolling his eyes to look at the ceiling. He should record himself saying "Temari and I are NOT dating" and give it to Naruto so he wouldn't have to waste his breath with trying to drive the information into the idiots head.

Naruto gave him a suspicious look but was soon replaced by a sly grin. Shikamaru had the urge to bang his head on the table but he looked at Naruto, prepared for whatever idiotic thing that would spill from his mouth.

"Then what about Ino?" he asked amusingly, putting emphasis on the girls name.

Shikamaru placed his chopsticks on top of his empty bowl calmly. He'd be damned if he was going to let Naruto of all people find out about his growing adoration for his teammate…

"What about her?" he asked casually, his tone laced in boredom. Naruto's grin gradually turned downwards until a frown dawned on his face, his brows furrowed in frustration. His blue eyes roamed over Shikamaru's stoic expression, trying to look for some hidden meaning to his words but found none.

Shikamaru inwardly smirked when Naruto turned grumpily in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Geez…You're no fun…I'd sure pity the girl who would choose to date you…" Naruto shook his head in sympathy and Shikamaru smirked again, handing over his ryou to Teuchi.

"Well, see you around Naruto…" he said as he sat up and exited the stall quietly.

"Shikamaru!" the kyuubi called after the lazy genius.

Shikamaru lifted the flap back up and peered inside, a scowl on his face.

"You sure it's not Ino?" Naruto asked again and the response he got back was the shadow nin turning on his heel calmly, walking away.

Shikamaru shook his head again and momentarily peered to his right to see Sakura looking his way while Ino had her head resting on her crossed arms, sleeping peacefully. The two were sitting at a nearby café. He quickly turned his eyes away when Sakura turned back to the blonde, shaking her gently to wake her up. When Shikamaru was sure he was out of their field of vision, he quickly made hand seals and a shadow copy appeared by his side. The copy nodded and hopped above the roofs of the buildings until it stopped just above the café, hiding itself behind the large sign.

"Hurry up! He's leaving!" Sakura yelled as Ino sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Ino yawned, covering her mouth with her hand politely. She looked over just in time to see Shikamaru's ponytail disappear behind a building.

"He's going to Asuma-sensei's to play Shogi" Ino said as she let out another yawn and stood up from her seat, stretching her arms out. The shadow copy poofed away and Shikamaru continued to walk down the path, mentally noting that Sakura and Ino had started to follow him once again.

Shikamaru stuffed his hands into his pockets and held in his chuckle, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Ino was _**really**_ good…

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"Ah, Shikamaru!" Asuma called out as he sat on the wooden walkway that surrounded his house. (A/N: What is this called?! I don't know Japanese houses well…) He took the cigarette out of his mouth and tapped it lightly causing the ashes to fall on the ground.

Shikamaru spotted his sensei and walked over to the bearded man, greeting him as he took a seat in front of the shogi board that lie beside Asuma. He saw that the pieces were already in place.

"You actually have the game set up for once?" The lazy genius asked in mock disbelief. Asuma grinned and turned around after grinding his cigarette butt into the ground, sitting in front of the shogi board opposite of Shikamaru.

"Yeah, this game has to be quick though. I have somewhere to go at 7" Asuma said as he watched Shikamaru make his first move. Shikamaru looked back up at his sensei after moving his pawn. Seven o' clock? That was at least 3 hours away…

"Hmm if you want to go on your date earlier you can just forfeit and be on your way" Shikamaru said smugly as he smirked at his teacher. Asuma frowned and moved his own piece forward.

"It's not a date and this time I'll win for sure…" he said confidently and watched carefully as Shikamaru moved another pawn.

"Right…" Shikamaru said disbelievingly and shrugged off the matter, his focus on his next move.

After an hour of playing (and Asuma losing miserably…again…), Asuma and Shikamaru decided to take a small break and Shikamaru sat on the porch, staring up as he waited for Asuma to come back with the snacks. His mind suddenly drifted off to think about his teammate and he sat up slightly, wondering where she was at the moment. He looked around to search for any signs of Ino or Sakura. It was risky if he made a shadow clone now because he had no idea where they were and if they were watching him.

Shikamaru thought about the chances of them watching him. Well…knowing them they would be bored with watching him play shogi so maybe they were off chatting somewhere. Shikamru sat up and dusted his pants off. Whatever, He would take the risk. He made hand signals and another copy of him appeared. He told the copy to stay there while he go search for the girls and most likely the copy obeyed.

He didn't know why but a gut feeling was telling him to head towards the sakura tree that grew outside of Asuma's estate. He hopped on the tree that was beside the cherry blossom tree, only a tall concrete wall dividing the two and he peered over the wall cautiously. He blinked surprised at how his intuition was correct. He watched the two girls quietly, both lying on the branches of the tree, their heads both leaning on another branch nearby and their eyes closed shut. The chunin's hazel eyes darted over to Ino who slept soundly and peacefully, her bangs cover her right eye and blowing lazily in the wind. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he watched the angel perched on the tree serenely. Shikamaru slowly backed away and jumped out of the tree, landing gracefully on the ground and walked back to his copy that disappeared into smoke when he saw him.

Asuma came out a few minutes after Shikamaru had settled down, lying on the wooden floor to stare at the clouds. He placed a saucer down next to the boy and then a teacup on top of it. Shikamaru sat up, thanking the man and held out the teacup so Asuma could pour him a cup.

After a short moment of silence, Asuma decided to speak up.

"So…what're Sakura and Ino doing here?" he asked casually, taking a sip from his tea.

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he placed the teacup down on the floor hastily, coughing and gagging as he felt the tea run down the wrong tube.

"Wha-What do you mean?" he asked as he finally calmed down, beating his chest again for good measure. Asuma looked at him passively. Shikamaru flinched and he knew he was caught.

Well…it wouldn't hurt to tell Asuma…the girls were sleeping and too far away to hear their conversation anyways.

He shrugged, he'll do the regretting later…

A few minutes later, Asuma was laughing loudly, his hand slapping his thigh to help the growing pain in his stomach. Shikamaru's brows furrowed slightly. Now was the time to regret…

"I don't see what's so funny old man" he said and moved another piece forward. He grinned to himself quietly. Only three more moves and he would win again. He seriously needed to find a more challenging competitor. Asuma stopped laughing at hearing the word 'old'.

"How rude…" he muttered as he moved his knight. Shikamaru smiled and moved another piece, killing off Asuma's last move.

"Mmm women are such fascinating creatures aren't they?" he laughed as mischief danced in his eyes. Shikamaru looked at him for a bit before replying…

"…more like _**troublesome **_creatures…" he muttered and Asuma laughed again.

X

O

X

Shikamaru waved to Asuma as he headed off towards the gate. He had won another game against Asuma and he was surprised that the man still had the will to play against him. He placed his hands behind his head contently and spotted the Sakura tree just ahead to his right. He smirked and casually strolled over to the tree, making sure his presence was unnoticed. He peered up at the tree, seeing that Sakura was asleep and Ino was staring at a bunch of blossoms in her hands. He smiled up at her before speaking.

"Ino…?" he asked questioningly, faking a confused look. He watched amusingly as Ino dropped the blossoms in her hand, causing them to scatter to the floor in a big heap. He watched as she found her balance on the tree and she looked down at him, her cheeks flaming up at the realization of being caught. Shikamaru noted that she should blush more often. Ino straightened up and stared back down at him.

"H-Hey there Shikamaru!" She greeted weekly as she kicked her friend awake. Sakura opened her eyes and glared at Ino before realizing the boy below them.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" she squeaked. Shikamaru spared Ino his intense gaze and shifted his eyes to look at Sakura.

"Haruno? What are you two doing here?" he questioned again, skeptical. Sakura bit her lip.

"We…We were just…" he noticed how hard she tried to make up an excuse.

"…walking around and we saw this gorgeous tree so we climbed up to have a closer look!" Ino finished for the other girl, as she laughed nervously. Shikamaru inwardly smirked as he watched Ino squirm from his gaze. In really was no good at lying when she got nervous…

"Really?" The cloud gazer asked, he would let her off the hook for now…no matter how lame and ridiculous her excuse was. Ino nodded her head quickly in response. Would he be considered a sadist if he admitted that he enjoyed watching Ino squirm in displeasure?

Shikamaru decided to shrug off the matter and he turned on his heel to leave.

…but not after poking a little fun at the girls first…

"Well whatever the reason, don't stay up there too long…you don't know how many bugs are infested on that thing…"

He smiled in victory as he heard the ear-piercing screams just seconds later…

X

O

X

After about 10 minutes, he found the two girls pursuing him again and he smiled. He already had his copy ninja following close by.

Five minutes later, his copy disappeared and the newly aquired information came into his head.

Hmm Chouji's house was it? Well he _**had**_ been meaning to stop by but he had remembered a few minutes back that he had to run an errand to the Hokage's office. He shrugged again. He could always put it off til' tomorrow…And besides, he'd let Ino bask in her own glory for once.

He set off for Chouji's house and continued to walk in silence until he arrived ten minutes later.

He walked up to the door and knocked on it loudly. He waited until he heard patting footsteps from inside and Chouji opened the door, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Shikamaru? You're by yourself?" The chubby boy asked as he looked behind his friend. Shikamaru nodded and gave the boy a weird look.

"Why wouldn't I be by myself?" He questioned as he stepped inside the house as he watched Chouji close the door. Chouji crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I saw Ino and Sakura tagging along when I was looking down from my window…" he scratched his head and the two walked up the stairs. Shikamaru face-palmed and shook his head in shame. He couldn't believe Ino and Sakura were being that obvious when they were supposed to be on a 'secret' spy mission. The two boys made it up the steps and Chouji opened the door leading to the rooftop and the two stepped out. Shikamaru and Chouji both leaned onto the metal railing, staring into the scenic sunset. After a short moment passed, Chouji looked down to his left noticing a flash of blonde hair.

"Oh hey! There's Ino!" Chouji pointed out as the blonde began to walk away, Sakura jogging behind to catch up with her.

"Hmm well what do you know…she called it a day" Shikamaru smirked as he watched the blonde walk away with Sakura trotting behind. Chouji looked at Shikamaru questioningly and the Nara in turn shook his head.

"Oh…it's nothing…"

Chouji looked thoughtful but then sat back down on the small bench, watching his friend watch the Yamanaka carefully.

"So when are you gonna tell her?" he spoke suddenly causing Shikamaru to look his way.

"Tell her? Who?" he played dumbly.

"Don't play dumb! Ino of course!" Chouji asked again.

Shikamaru sighed and scratched his head sheepishly while waiting for Ino to disappear behind the building.

"Hmm maybe tonight…" he found himself saying quietly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Chouji at the comment straightened up abruptly.

"Really??" he asked curiously.

All he got in reply was a small nod.

X

O

X

Shikamaru walked aimlessly along the dark streets of Konoha. He was still debating on whether he should tell Ino or not. Well at least if she chose to reject him he already had 200 ways to prepare himself for it. He grumbled something incoherent and kicked at the dirt only to realize a moment later that he was in front of the Yamanaka household. He looked up at the welcoming lights and warmth pf the house and he hesitantly walked up to the front door.

"Well…like I said…I'll do the regretting later…" he muttered as he pressed the doorbell calmly. He stood, staring at the ground until he heard sets of footsteps coming from inside and the muffled voices of Sakura and Ino.

As the front door opened he stared into shocking green eyes.

"Shikamaru?!" the pink-haired kunoichi stood flabbergasted as she looked at his bored expression. The boy was about to ask for Ino when he saw her peering from behind the girl. He watched as her expression turned grim and she said in an annoyed voice "What are YOU doing here?!"

Shikamaru smirked and entered the doorway just as Sakura stepped aside to let him in.

"What? Did you think I'd be somewhere else?" he leered at her as he watched her back away at their close proximity.

Shikamaru didn't listen as the blonde made up some bad excuse that he unfortunately didn't care for at the moment. Instead, he had his eyes trained on her nice and very inviting lips.

He looked back into her surprised eyes.

"Uh-huh…tell me _**Ino**_…" he spoke quietly as he leaned his face closer to her just as her back hit the wall. He watched as she squirmed underneath him and smiled to himself.

"…what am I going to do now?" he asked quietly, whispering slowly into her ear. Ino's face flamed as his breathe fanned her face when he brought his face even more closer to hers.

"well…?" he whispered again and before Ino could say anything he swooped down to capture her lips with his. He moved his right hand to touch her cheek gently as he deepened the kiss even further, Ino clutching weakly onto his chest.

After what seemed like eternity he broke the kiss reluctantly and smirked as he saw Ino's flushed cheeks and swollen lips. The Yamanaka stared at him with a mix of emotions running inside her and panted heavily as her body welcomed the needed air. The blonde tried her hardest not to pull the boy back into a crushing lip lock when she saw that sexy grin on his face.

Before she knew it Shikamaru had backed up and had begun to walk towards the door. He nodded to the obviously embarrassed and surprised Sakura and he placed his hand on the doorframe carefully, adding a smartass comment as he left the house.

He walked out of the house calmly and stared at the glowing stars in the sky and licked his lips, tasting the sweetness the girl of his dreams left him.

_I guess there will be no regretting tonight..._

* * *

ZOMG! FINALLY! 

Urghh it seemed reeeally boring to me…in my opinion…I'm sorry guys…but I hoped you at least liked it a little…

Reviews would be nice…


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